Skies

ABSTRACT

A short pair of skies with one of the skies being narrower in width in comparison to the other ski is described. Each ski has grooves at the bottom surface to provide speed control and permit increased maneuverability. The skies permit ease of tracking and turning, being useful as utility and/or training skies for beginners.

'United States Patent 1191 Charneck SKIES [76] Inventor: Joseph P. Charneck, 3730 St.

Margaret St., Baltimore, Md. 21225 [22] Filed: Apr. 30, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 355,670

[52] US. Cl. 280/11.l3 S [51] Int. Cl. A63c 5/00 [58] Field of Search 280/11.13 S, 11.13 L

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,655,211 4/1972 Bollettieri 280/1 1.13 S

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 207,741 7 1959 Austria 280/1 1.13 s

[ 1 Sept. 23, 1975 646.632 10/1962 Italy 280/1 1.13 S

Primary ExaminerRobert R. Song Attorney, Agent, or Firm-A. W. Breiner 57 ABSTRACT A short pair of skies with one of the skies being narrower in width in comparison to the other ski is described. Each ski has grooves at the bottom surface to provide speed control and permit increased maneuverability. The skies permit ease of tracking and turning, being useful as utility and/or training skies for beginners.

8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 1 of 2 3,907,315

SKIES FIELD OF INVENTION AND BACKGROUND The present invention is directed to short skies. More particularly, the invention is directed to a pair of short skies which, due to their construction, easily track and turn making the skies particularly adaptable for use as utility skies or as skies for beginners.

Short skies are known in the prior art. Various attributes have been attributed to such skies including low cost, endurance, ease of maintenance, ease of packing and carrying, and the like. Moreover, skies have been suggested having a groove in the lower surface thereof to provide biting edges to permit greater control on turns and lift on the straightaway. Other skies have been suggested having varying widths at different points in the ski, and varying thickness at different points of the ski to provide flexibility, maneuverability, and the like. Heretofore, however, short skies have not been provided which permit good control of speed, tracking, turning, or which have good stability.

OBJECTS OF INVENTION AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a pair of all-purpose, short skies having ease of tracking and turning and which permit speed control.

It is another object of this invention to provide a pair of skies useful as training skies for beginners.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a pair of utility skies which can be easily packed and carried and which have the attributes of conventional length skies.

These and other objects of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description.

The aforesaid objects of the present invention are accomplished by fabricating a pair of short skies, i.e., under about four feet long and preferably 38.75 inches long, and wherein one of the skies is narrower in width in comparison to the other ski. Preferably, each of the skies will have one or more and, preferably, three grooves in the bottom surface of each of the skies. Preferably, the end of each ski is milled. The combination of the aforesaid features, with emphasis being placed on the different widths of the right and left ski, provides a pair of skies which is excellent as a utility ski and/or a training ski for beginners. The variation of width between the right and left foot provides ease of tracking and turning, permitting excellent control and maneuverability. Moreover, the grooves at the lower surface permit speed control and added lift. For example, the three grooves will create a partial vacuum which provides a very slow ski desirable for beginners or where a skier is traversing unknown terrain. If a faster ski is desired, the two outer grooves can be filled, for example with sealing wax. The milled end of each ski permits greater lift, again providing for greater speed, control, and maneuverability.

THE DRAWING Having described the invention in general terms, a preferred embodiment will be described in reference to the drawing wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and

FIG. 1 is a top view of a pair of skies;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a pair of skies;

FIG. 3 is a profiled view of one ski;

FIG. 4 is a top view setting forth grid lines on a preferred ski;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view showing dimensions of a preferred ski; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, both the right ski 10 and left ski 20 are exactly 38.75 inches long. Each ski has a milled tail l2 and 22, respectively, extending 6 inches inward from the end of the tail. As seen most clearly in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the tail is milled to a greater depth inward of the end of the ski to provide an angle. This increases the lift characteristics of the ski.

As seen most clearly from FIGS. 2 and 5, the bottom of skies l and 20 each have three grooves. The center groove extends from the end of the ski inward 24 inches, whereas the outer grooves are only 12 inches longand each being rearward of the center groove. The center groove is of greater depth and width than the outer grooves as seen most clearly in FIG. 6.

As seen from FIGS. 3 and 4, the length of the ski is divided into 33 grid lines. The width of the skies for the right and left foot vary at each of the grid lines. The amount of variation will depend in part upon the desires of the particular skier, i.e., whether the ski is to be a utility ski or beginners ski and by the overall length of the ski. However, the following dimensions are representative:

Grid Line Left Foot Right Foot As will be apparent, in the event a ski of a length other than 38.75 inches is to be employed, the grid lines will be closer together or further apart, with the variations in width from right to left ski being proportionally different.

The ski described in the aforesaid examples can be constructed of wood, fiberglass, metal, or a combination of the above materials. As a result of the design of the ski, a beginner can quickly learn the fundamentals of skiing. Moreover, the skies provide uniformity of maneuverability and smoothness of ride, as well as the ability to control the fastness of the ski depending upon the conditions of the snow and/or desires of the skier. As a result, the ski has particular advantages for use by the Armed Forces or ski patrols, as well as in ski lodges which emphasize teaching beginners the art of skiing.

'As will be apparent to one skilled in the art, various modifications can be made in the present skies without departing from the inventive concept disclosed herein. For example, although the skies are preferably about four feet in length or less, they can range up to about five feet and still provide the advantages of the invention. Such modifications being within the ability of one skilled in the art are to be covered by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pair of skies, said pair having a right and left ski, and one of said right and left ski having a predetermined and noticeably narrower width than the other of said pair, to provide greater control and maneuverability for a skier who favors one leg over the other.

2. The skis of claim 1 wherein each ski has a length of less than about 5 feet.

3. The skies of claim 2 wherein each ski has a plurality of grooves in the underside thereof.

4. The skies of claim 3 wherein said plurality of grooves constitute three grooves, the center groove being longer, deeper, and wider than the two outer grooves.

S. The skies of claim 4 wherein the tail section of said skies is milled.

6. The skies of claim 5 wherein the width of each ski from the fiat 0f the front end to the tail end becomes progressively narrower.

7. The skies of claim 6 wherein the ski has a length of less than about 4 feet.

8. The skies of claim 7 wherein the length is about 40 inches. 

1. A pair of skies, said pair having a right and left ski, and one of said right and left ski having a predetermined and noticeably narrower width than the other of said pair, to provide greater control and maneuverability for a skier who favors one leg over the other.
 2. The skis of claim 1 wherein each ski has a length of less than about 5 feet.
 3. The skies of claim 2 wherein each ski has a plurality of grooves in the underside thereof.
 4. The skies of claim 3 wherein said plurality of grooves constitute three grooves, the center groove being longer, deeper, and wider than the two outer grooves.
 5. The skies of claim 4 wherein the tail section of said skies is milled.
 6. The skies of claim 5 wherein the width of each ski from the flat of the front end to the tail end becomes progressively narrower.
 7. The skies of claim 6 wherein the ski has a length of less than about 4 feet.
 8. The skies of claim 7 wherein the length is about 40 inches. 